Organic, pure, delicious, and somewhat paradoxical — Welsh Scotch! One of The Taster’s friends, Dà MhìIe Distillery, which commissioned the world’s first organic whisky at the Springbank distillery in 1992, has just released the second edition of its Organic Single Grain Welsh Whisky (the first is sold out). Comes in full or stocking-filler (5cl) size!
Dà MhìIe produces several great (and organic) spirits, including a seaweed gin and delicious orange and sloe liqueurs, apple brandy and more. We expect this whisky to be of the same high quality. All bottles will all be sold on a first-come first-served basis!

This whisky has had a limited run of just 400 bottles, and is 46% ABV. It should be a good collectable and a good investment (in the unlikely event you decide not to drink it yourself). Selling for around £55-£60 for a full bottle, or you can get stocking-fillers for just £7

Seaweed Gin

This seaweed gin taps into two current trends: gin and seaweed. More interestingly, it’s particularly designed to complement seafood (perfect for the smoked salmon & prawns course at Christmas lunch). A very pretty stocking-filler, or get a bigger bottle as a main gift. From £4.95. Click herefor full details of this and the other gins

The Taster is very proud to present the following . . for 25 years, former butler Richard J. Smith advised celebrities, politicians & royalty on wine. He now runs the Wine Schools of Cheshire and London (cheshire.wine) and writes for The Taster (adding a bit of class to the whole enterprise, we’re sure): here, he gives us Perfect Punch.

Making your own mulled wine isn’t as difficult or as costly as you might think. Your home will smell amazing for hours too!

§ Getting The Wine
As you’re adding lots of extras to the wine, never spend too much on a bottle — but do get one of decent quality. For a wine steal, nip to Aldi and grab a bottle of Toro Loco Tempranillo (a bargain £3.60). What’s important is while it’s incredibly cheap, this wine has still been bottled in Spain and isn’t pumped full of the extra sulphites that so many supermarket wines fall foul of. Avoid full-bodied or very light wines.

§ Ingredients
For six glasses:

1 bottle medium-bodied red wine

60g granulated sugar

Cinnamon stick

1 medium size orange

Cloves

Alternative recipe for Amaretto Cherry Punch — add:

4 shots Amaretto

1 tin of black cherries in syrup

§ MethodBring half a litre of filtered water to the boil, add the sugar, then simmer. Once the sugar has dissolved add the red wine.

Stick cloves in half the orange and slice the remaining half.

Gently stir and add the cloved orange, orange slices and the cinnamon stick.

Simmer for 20 minutes and taste. If you prefer a sweeter mulled wine add a little more sugar, simmer and taste again.

If you’re making Amaretto Cherry punch, add the black cherries (and the syrup) to the simmering mixture.Take off the heat, add the Amaretto then stir. Return to the heat and simmer. Add more Amaretto if you prefer something stronger.

Keep your mulled wine on a gentle heat and serve into heatproof glasses or cups.

**Do be careful if you or any guests are driving. While mulled wine is a warming treat in winter you’re still consuming quite an amount of alcohol. Merry Christmas